Besides flying experiments for NASA, Astrobotic drummed up its own freight business, packing the 1.9-metre-tall Peregrine lander with everything from a chip of rock from Mount Everest and toy-sized cars from Mexico that will catapult to the lunar surface and cruise around, to the ashes and DNA of deceased space enthusiasts, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke.
The Native American Navajo nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the human remains, saying it would be a "profound desecration" of a celestial body revered by Native Americans.